By Joe Johnson
An Athens man was recently re-indicted for attempting to murder his girlfriend eight months ago during an altercation at their home in an eastside trailer park.
Christopher Adam Warden, 52, had previously been indicted in March for criminal attempt to commit a felony, with the felony being murder for beating the victim’s head with a baseball bat.
In a more specifically-worded re-indictment filed Sept. 10 in Clarke County Superior Court, Warden is charged with criminal attempt to commit malice, or premeditated, murder. He was charged in the initial and subsequent re-indictment with the additional offenses of family violence aggravated assault and two counts of family violence aggravated battery for the attack in which the victim suffered a broken jaw and finger and other injuries.
According to Athens-Clarke County police, the incident occurred early Jan. 6 in the couple’s trailer at the Oak Grove Mobile Home Park off Lexington Road. Responding to 2:34 a.m. report of an assault in progress, officers heard sounds of a struggle inside the home and a 911 dispatcher informed them that the victim said she was being beaten with a bat, according to police.
Officers subsequently forced their way into the residence, police said.
While detaining Warden, officers began providing emergency aid to the 46-year-old victim, police said.
An officer forced open the trailer’s back door to provide National EMS personnel quicker access to the severely injured victim, police said.
After helping load the victim onto a stretcher and into an ambulance, the officer drove the ambulance to the hospital so that the EMS could continue providing “life-saving care,” according to police.
Warden was arrested at the scene, and he remains in custody without bail at the Clarke County Jail.
Warden is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 28.
In a stipulation filed Sept. 16, Warden’s attorney and a prosecutor agreed that the victim’s 911 call reporting the assault was admissible as trial evidence, but Warden’s use of illegal drugs and his involvement in the Southern Knights Motorcycle Club, an alleged affiliate of the Outlaws motorcycle gang were not admissible as evidence.
Anyone in an abusive relationship can seek advice and services by calling Project Safe’s 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org.
Comments